Derby Watch: Asmussen barn loaded with prospects

He has two entered in the Risen Star Stakes this Saturday at Fair Grounds and likely will have three in the Southwest Stakes on Monday at Oaklawn Park. And there are several more who could make late impacts on the Kentucky Derby trail. These are heady days for Steve Asmussen, who has as much depth as any trainer with this year’s crop of 3-year-olds as he tries to tick off the one box still left open on his résumé.

Asmussen, 52, has won the Preakness – twice – the Belmont, six Breeders’ Cup races – including the Classic twice – and was voted into the Hall of Fame. But the Kentucky Derby has eluded him. Asmussen has finished second twice, with Lookin At Lee last year and with Nehro in 2011.

Over the years, Asmussen has made good use of the Derby prep series at both Fair Grounds and Oaklawn. Creator and Curlin parlayed preps at Oaklawn into Triple Crown race wins, and though Gun Runner could only manage to finish third in his Derby, the foundation he had at Fair Grounds in 2016 certainly paid dividends down the line, as he developed into the best dirt horse in the world by the time he retired last month.

This year, Asmussen is taking the Fair Grounds route with Principe Guilherme and Snapper Sinclair – both of whom are entered in the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star – while Zing Zang, much like Creator two years ago, has been rerouted to Oaklawn, where he is scheduled to run in the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest along with stablemates Combatant and Retirement Fund.

[bc_playlist_id:264338:]Principe Guilherme was second and Snapper Sinclair third behind Instilled Regard in last month’s Lecomte Stakes; they all meet again in the Risen Star.

Principe Guilherme, a colt by Tapit, won his first two starts before the Lecomte, which was his stakes debut. Starting from post 10 in a field of 13, he was caught wide chasing the pace after easy front-running trips in his first two races.

“I thought it was a solid effort, and I expect better this time,” Asmussen said by telephone on Wednesday. “The first two races went his way. The Lecomte didn’t. He’s trained better since that race.”

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Snapper Sinclair, a colt by City Zip, won twice on turf last year at age 2, then returned to dirt – over which he was sixth of seven in his sprint debut at Belmont Park – and beat all but Instilled Regard and Principe Guilherme, both Derby Watch members, in the Lecomte.

“He’s been very solid,” Asmussen said. “He’s a very athletic horse. He deserves this chance.”

Zing Zang, like Principe Guilherme a son of Tapit, was a fast-finishing fourth in the Lecomte after defeating maidens in his prior start. He now heads to Oaklawn.

“We feel that Oaklawn gives him a better shot with his one-run style,” Asmussen said. “I see a lot of similarities between him and Creator.”

No kidding. Both are gray colts by Tapit who ran twice early at the Fair Grounds meet before going to Oaklawn. Oaklawn was good to Creator, who won the Arkansas Derby there. He encountered severe traffic in the stretch run of the Kentucky Derby and then took the Belmont Stakes.

Combatant comes off a second-place finish in the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn behind Mourinho, who is scheduled to return to Oaklawn for the Southwest.

“Nobody went with Mourinho,” said Asmussen, who said he believes Combatant, by Scat Daddy, will appreciate the distances he’ll be asked to handle in the coming months.

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Retirement Fund, a son of Eskendereya, is unbeaten after two front-running victories at Fair Grounds and, like Zing Zang, has headed to Oaklawn.

“He’s kind of where Principe Guilherme was after two races,” Asmussen said. “He’ll face more speed this time.”

That quintet is the farthest along of Asmussen’s 3-year-olds. He has several others who could be late developers, not necessarily in terms of being Derby prospects but in making an impact later in the year.

That lineup includes:

◗ Copper Bullet, who has been idle since winning the Saratoga Special in August and is working at Fair Grounds toward a return to action;

◗ Mitole, an Eskendereya colt who won a maiden race at Oaklawn this month;

◗ New York Central, yet another colt by Tapit who was second in a strong Oaklawn allowance race last month and is an outside possibility for the Southwest;

◗ Tenfold, a Curlin colt who romped in his debut last Friday at Oaklawn when asked to go two turns.

That’s quite the roster. Asmussen is hoping it looks as formidable come May 5.

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